I expect to learn most of what I learn at church from listening to God’s Spirit, so I was pleasantly surprised this Sunday to be inspired by a speaker. He read from an updated version of the manual used to train missionaries, and in so doing reminded me of something I believe and that I teach my students. When I arrived home, I checked my copy of the manual, in which the segment of interest is entitled that “No Effort is Wasted” and then went on to remind myself how God makes use of things even when we don’t see fruit and can’t tell how it’s used.
Chemistry teaches this principle. In Gibbs Free Energy equation ΔG = q + w. In words, this tells us that “the change in energy is the sum of the heat quotient and the work performed”. When I covered this just a few weeks ago, I told students how the heat is also known as the activation energy or the preparatory energy needed in order to prepare things for the change that we intend. Although it’s not directly involved in the change itself, the change cannot and will not occur without it, and so it is considered in the calculation of energy and cost because it’s part of the process. Sometimes, the heat quotient is substantial, which is why some things don’t happen as quickly as we like or to the degree that we would like.
No energy is lost or wasted in chemistry. We know that according to the law of conservation of energy that energy is only interconverted, and with some allowances for the universal scale (beyond this planet), there is an accommodation to convert energy to mass and vice versa. When we repurpose matter, that energy is released elsewhere for capture or use in changing and rearranging things.
I am frequently disappointed when my efforts do not bear the fruit for which I hope, and in those times, as God reminded me yesterday, I remember that God’s work continues. Only the work of man can be stayed or frustrated or derailed. Perhaps this is why we emphasize so frequently the notion that God's timing differs from our own. Furthermore, God’s plan is as much about the means as it is the ends. You might think it was a waste of time for Noah to cry repentance prior to the flood, but when he did so it accomplished at least two things. It showed Noah that he really believed it and that he really loved his neighbor by warning them, and it showed the people that God loved them to try one more time to recover them from their wickedness. Sometimes, people aren’t ready to hear everything, and so God makes sure that they hear “that portion of truth they are willing and able to receive and wisely use” (Orson Hyde). God is the lord of harvest, and He knows what to do to prepare good fruits.
Sometimes what we do is preparatory work. In order to harvest fruit, much work proceeds that miracle. You may have to clear the ground, prepare the soil, plant seeds, remove weeds, and dung and prune and dig about during a long season for the harvest. Even things that are possible are not likely without the right investment, and in order for God’s useful work to occur, sometimes we only live long enough to see the heat quotient.
Just this past week after class, I showed the gummy bear demonstration. In order for the reaction to work, it requires specific things in the right place at the right time. Even then, I have to heat one of the reactants to 350C to melt it in order for the actual result below to occur. I have been willing to do this particular demonstration 14 times now because it powerfully shows things I cannot show them easily or concisely. I have found it useful work so to do.
Likewise, we decide things are useful work because the rewards that may result justify the effort we must invest. Even when the recovery is low or the chances of success seem small, there seem to always be people willing to try. This attitude led Columbus across the Atlantic, NASA into Space, and my ancestors across the plains in covered wagons. All of these are venerated because we can link the fruits of the harvest to their effort, but as I have previously written we sometimes forget the travails and activation energy required in order to convince Spain to fund an expedition, to overcome the earth’s gravity, and to cross an unsettled wilderness. In each of these cases, the preparative energy seemed enormous, but people paid it anyway knowing that it would be useful to someone.
I do believe that God only does useful work. In His Universe of Useful Work, everything that occurs “happens for a reason” because He knows how to get things ready for His children and how to get His children ready for Him. Even string theory tells us that everything is connected, and so even if you feel that you’re part of a fruitless effort, remember that you are only part of a larger vision that will eventually do something useful, even if that utility is only so that you know you were willing to attempt. Discovering truths about ourselves is useful in maximizing future efficiencies in our lives, and so the universe allows us to sometimes do the jejune and the asinine so that we can learn to be wise from our mistakes. As for the universe, it follows the rules, and everything it does that we know follows this rule and maximizes useful work.
This post is dedicated to M. W. former student who was the first to be touched by this realization.
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